Trailer of the Week: Francois Ozon Studies Middle Class Obsession in Creepy New Trailer for 'In the House'

By
Mark Lukenbill
|
IndiewireFebruary 28, 2013 at 11:04AM

Best known for 2003's psycho-sexual thriller "Swimming Pool," Francois Ozon is known for churning out films at a Woody Allen workhorse pace, having released a film essentially every year since the late '90s.

Before We Saw the Trailer, We Thought:Best known for 2003's psycho-sexual thriller "Swimming Pool," Francois Ozon has managed to churn out films at a Woody Allen-worthy workhorse pace, having released a film essentially every year since the late '90s. This makes the two year gap following his last film, the light and funny Catherine Deneuve-starring "Potiche", seem like a significant passage of time. "In the House" made a mark on the festival circuit last year, playing at Toronto and taking the top prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. While flying under the radar in the U.S. with a limited release from distributor Cohen Media Group, the acclaim and warm reception the film has picked up so far is still enough to grab attention.

And Now? Less overtly sexually charged than "Swimming Pool," but still containing an undercurrent of seductive danger, you could make the case that "In the House" seems to have the potential to be one of Ozon's most notable films in the last super prolific decade. Starring Fabrice Luchini (from "Potiche") as a frustrated, unappreciated schoolteacher and Kristin Scott Thomas (in typically scene stealing form) as his wife, the film follows Luchini's character as he is increasingly obsessed with a pupil's voyeuristic essays focusing on a classmate's perfect family. While he sees that the envious, fantasy fulfilling papers are potentially unethical and dangerous, he continues to prompt the teen because of the strength of his writing. As you can see in the unsettling, suspenseful trailer, the boy (Ernst Umhauer) takes things a little too far.

The Cohen Media Group will release "In the House" in New York on April 19th. Check out the new U.S. trailer below.